An abbreviated training camp officially got underway for the
Flyers on Sunday, and if there was any question as to how fans would respond immediately
after a work stoppage, they answered. Thousands flocked to the Skate Zone in
Vorhees, New Jersey, so many in fact that people had to be turned away by order
of the fire marshal. John Gonzalez has more on the rabid enthusiasm that was on
display.

Now the club has just six days to prepare for the start of
the regular season, which is set to begin on Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center
against the Pittsburgh Penguins, as was anticipated. The rest of the 48-game schedule
was also revealed upon ratification of the new collective bargaining agreement,
and features 18 games versus Atlantic Division opponents.

Here’s the important part though: single-game tickets go on
sale Tuesday at 10 a.m.

Back on the ice meanwhile, the Flyers’ front office acquired
some reinforcements over the weekend. The big news was the addition of
free-agent defenseman Kurtis Foster, which could help solidify a back end with
plenty of questions marks, specifically addressing the issue of depth. The 6-5
31 year old comes to Philadelphia on a one-year deal after averaging nearly 16
minutes a night last season while playing for three different teams.

The Flyers are already making trades as well, bringing a
familiar name back into the fold. The team agreed to send minor leaguer Luke
Pither to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for prospect Mark Alt and good ol’
Brian Boucher.

GM Paul Holmgren described Boucher as insurance, and said he
expects the veteran netminder to begin the year with the Phantoms, so Michael
Leighton will still serve as Ilya Bryzgalov’s backup. This will be Boosh’s
third fourth stint with the organization.

That’s nice and all, but Alt sweetened the deal. A
second-round pick in 2010, the 6-4, 21-year-old defenseman boosts the Flyers’
system with another prospect at a possible position of weakness. Alt is
currently at the University of Minnesota.

That’s a lot of action for the NHL only being back in
business for little more than a day, and nothing really to complain about –
unless you happen to be one of the folks who spent their morning in the Skate
Zone lobby. More to come…

Matt Rhule's first Baylor hires include 4 Temple assistants

Matt Rhule's first Baylor hires include 4 Temple assistants

WACO, Texas -- New Baylor coach Matt Rhule has made some immediate Texas connections by hiring the president of the state's high school coaches who is a former Bears receiver.

Rhule announced his first five hires with the Bears on Friday, three days after being named Baylor's coach. They include four members from his staff at Temple and David Wetzel, the head coach and athletic director the past 13 seasons at Ronald Reagan High School in San Antonio.

Sean Padden will serve as Baylor's director of football operations, similar to his role at Temple the past four years.

Rhule didn't immediately announce the titles and job duties for Wetzel, Francis Brown, Mike Siravo and Evan Cooper. There was also no indication of when the rest of his staff would be completed.

Brown and Siravo were defensive assistants at Temple, and Cooper was director of player personnel for the Owls.

Wetzel, who has coached in the state high school ranks for 25 years, was serving as president of the Texas High School Football Coaches Association. He lettered at Baylor in 1990 and 1991 while playing for Grant Teaff, and also earned a master's degree from the school in 1994. Before Reagan, he was head coach at schools in Killeen and Austin.

Wetzel told the Waco Tribune-Herald that he expects to play a major role in recruiting, but didn't know yet if he'd be coaching offense or defense.

"Given the opportunity, it's really a unique deal," Wetzel told the newspaper. "I feel like it's God's timing for me to be in the right place at the right time."

When Rhule was introduced Wednesday in Waco, he said he had already received about 480 text messages, many from coaches. He also didn't rule out the possibility of some of the current Baylor assistants staying, but said he hadn't had a chance to meet with them. Those assistants were retained from former coach Art Briles' staff with Jim Grobe as acting head coach this season.

NoteBaylor announced Friday that Jalen Pitre, a defensive back from Stafford, Texas, signed a financial aid agreement that will allow him to enroll for the spring 2017 semester after graduating from high school early. Before Rhule was hired, Pitre was the only player verbally committed for Baylor's recruiting class in February. He had 83 tackles, six interceptions and four forced fumbles as a senior.

Dorial Green-Beckham didn't support any charity with his cleats last Sunday.

In reality, he was funding the NFL.

The Eagles' receiver was fined $6,076 by the NFL for wearing Yeezy cleats (Kanye West's shoes), which had no affiliation to a charitable organization or cause, CSNPhilly.com has confirmed. Players around the NFL last weekend wore decorative spikes supporting a charity or cause they felt passionately about as part of the league's My Cleats, My Cause promotion. Green-Beckham was fined because his cleats were unapproved by the league; earlier this season Houston receiver DeAndre Hopkins was fined for wearing Yeezy cleats.